INTERVIEW: Preview the mtvU Woodie Awards with Matt And Kim, Lil B The Based God

It’s official. The South by Southwest music festival has emerged from a small gathering of 700 people to an industry force with over 20,000 registered attendees and an estimated 80,000 additional music fans from around the world.

Like it or not, it’s not a coincidence that MTV chose Austin as the new home of it’s college network awards show, The MTVu Woodies Awards. Designed to highlight underground and underhand artists beore they hit the mainstream. Past award winners include Gnarls Bakley and Paramore, and this award cememoy might be the most intersting, with Matt and Kim, Lil B The Based God, The Black Keys, Vampire Weekend and California’s new rising sensations OFWGKTA.

Last week, I participated in a conference call with three of the performers of the awards, Matt and Kim, Chiddy Bang, and Lil’ B The Based God.

Matt And Kim are no strangers to the Woodies ceremony winning an award last year. As Matt says on the call, “the Woodies most celebratory moments” of last year. As fans of hip-hop, I naturally asked them if there were any crazy collaborations planned for this year.

“I would love to do something original,” Matt says, “we couldn’t pull this off for this award show but definitely for the future. Kim and I are big hip-hop fans, and we’re really excited to see Cam’ron and Rick Ross [at the Woodies].”

As for the obvious question, “Why are you so damn happy?”, Matt responds “I definatey have to say that we get pinned in the happy category. We’re just trying to be ourselves. We’re not trying to put that bored look on stage.” Ironically however, thier newest video for Cameras plays in the different direction. “we didn’t want to make a video with swing sets and lollipops. We wanted to counteract that [impression] with lots of fake blood and violence. It seems to make sense to me.”

Matt and Kim are nominated for Best Performing Woodie.

If Matt and Kim are hipster perfection, Lil B The Based God is...well, we can’t even put him into a box. The 21 year old Cali native has become an internet sensation as of late, creating over 100 MySpace pages, and enticing millions of fans to follow his #Based philosophy, with his YouTube videos gaining millions of views and selling out shows, and a XXL Freshman cover to boot, B has excelled to hip-hop heights as a solo artist.

However, even though he’s put in the hip-hop realm, he dosen’t like all that hip-hop entails. “I think the best thing that will happen to hip-hop is that it will stop be so narrow-minded. I think it will be more revolutionary because it will be less discriminatory,” he says. “Hip-hop is discriminatory against gays, happy people. If you’re happy, hip-hop hates you.”

Being happy and being yourself is a key component to being #Based, and with Charlie Sheen on everyone's mind’s I asked him, is the Hollywood actor living the #Based lifestyle?

“Charlie sheen is definitely based.” The rapper says. “Hopefully he settles what he needs to settle what he needs too tho.” The rapper, who along with fellow Californian’s Odd Future have brought back the word “swag,” but even though they share a FADER cover they have never met. “It would be good for us to finally meet,” B says, and that meeting should take place at the ceremony next Wednesday where both are scheduled to perform. B is nominated for the Left Field Woodie.

The mtvU Woodies airs live from Austin next Wednesday, March 16th at midnight.